Immediately after mistakenly leaving his wallet at a checkout counter in a neighborhood grocery shop, a Texas man became a victim of one of the most detrimental non-violent crimes nowadays: Identity Theft. A man identified only as R.E. could not picture the time, effort, power, emotion, and income he would soon have to devote towards proving to the world that he was indeed a victim. R.Es attacker, the employee operating the register, began by charging close to $500 in groceriesat the very same shop! The attacker continued the spree by opening accounts with a variety of department shops and credit card firms. (R.E., 2001) According to R.Es testimonial on privacyrights.org, most of the accounts had been opened on the internet, which can be accomplished with ease as there is no extra verification needed other than a social security number and other general information.
In his attempt to regain manage of his credit and remove the thousands of dollars in debt designed by his attacker, R.E. found himself surrounded by disbelief and inattentiveness toward his concern. In his case, the lack of interest on the part of law enforcement and business theft divisions gave his attacker a great deal more time to commit larger offenses and open larger accounts under his identity. Even soon after R.E contacted hisDistrict Attorney's office the Department of Public Safety the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Social Security Administration (SSA) the Postal Inspector the Secret Service the Department of Justice the Dallas Police Department's Monetary Crimes division the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Texas Lawyer General's office, the attacker was in a position to continue opening accounts with R.Es identity. (R.E., 2001)
Like the millions of other identity theft circumstances, R.E was forced to undergo hardships and monetary despair for years without having sufficient support from authorities. On November 1, 1999 the FTC established the Identity Theft Hotline to track consumer complaints. In 2001 a report of calls to the hotline showed 97,000 entries. The report also shows that of the 64% of victims that contacted law enforcement prior to contacting the hotline, only 72% had police reports generated. (Matejkovic & Lahey, 2001) It could possibly be secure to say that the government, corporations, and shoppers treat identity theft differently.
The US Department of Justice defines identity theft as,
Knowingly transferring or utilizing without having lawful authority, a indicates of identification of yet another person with the intent to commit or to aid or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or neighborhood law.(Justice, 2006)
Victims of identity theft have an very hard time fixing the harm brought on by identity theft. Because the only thing a thief desires to accomplish the crime is a Social Security Number (SSN), which is widely applied as a technique of identification, it can take months and even years to detect. So how does a victim begin restoring his or her identity? This question can prove a great deal more hard for victims than government officials can know, and a great deal more complex than smaller firms can deal with. Because smaller banks such as community banks with assets under $500 million do not have a huge sufficient expense accounts to properly deal with fraud circumstances, crimes committed with accounts under these firms quite often stay unresolved.(Slosrik, 2002) Because the amounts stolen in these circumstances are typically low, these banks tend to write them off as loses. Even although these banks may possibly be in a position to write off these amounts as losses, the acco unt holders are not quite often in a position to be so lenient.
When a person realizes his or her account has been tampered with, he or she have to then begin the agonizing struggle of getting his or her income back and in some circumstances, regaining manage of the account. Bank of Americas web page gives just a couple of steps for handling identity theft. The web page lists that victims have to 1st contact the fraud departments at the three major credit bureaus: Experian TransUnion and Equifax, close accounts that have been tampered with, file a police report, and file a complaint with the FTC. These steps do not even come close to the amount of function that is needed to resolve an identity theft case, which is depicted in R.Es testimonial on privacyrights.org. It is also very important to note that just about every step of the procedure to regaining ones identity have to be completed solely by the victim. (Slosrik, 2002)
Far more than a decade ago stealing yet another persons identity was not a crime. In 1998 President Clinton signed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (ITADA) making identity theft a federal offense. If caught, criminals would face up to 20 years in prison, or a fine of up to $250,000. (Slosrik, 2002) Customers however, believed that the penalties had been not powerful sufficient, so in 2004 President Bush signed into law the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act. This quickly designed a greater level of identity theft named aggravated identity theft, which entails identity theft linked with terrorism, and improved penalties for such crimes. The Act improved the maximum sentence for identity theft from three to five years, and the maximum sentence for aggravated identity theft improved by 5 years to a total of 25 years imprisonment. (Punishment for identity theft, 2006)
Even with actions taken toward offenders, victims can not support but feel as although that small effort has been created in stopping the crimes, and law enforcement is not motivated or equipped sufficient to investigate them. A large number of victims say they feel neglected by law enforcement when reporting identity theft crimes. In his testimonial R. E. writes, pessimism by the detectives that any person will be caught is the cause law enforcement has not taken action on her claim. He also describes this as the only crime where the suspect is presumed innocent before confirmed guilty and the victim is guilty till confirmed innocent." (R.E., 2001)
Though firms take losses from crimes such as these, the losses do not compare to the turmoil unleashed upon victims directly affected by the crimes. Mainly because there are so a good number of techniques to steal a persons identity, it is almost impossible to avoid such crimes. Criminals search through trash, steal or reroute mail, intercept individual information over the world-wide-web, or peek over shoulders at checkout counters and ATMs. The outcomes of the crime can leave victims feeling depressed, isolated, helpless, and/or frustrated. Some effects of identity theft are difficulty obtaining loans, denied credit, bankruptcy, false arrests, denied employment, and evictions. (Slosrik, 2002) The use of a victims information varies. A 2004 survey of identity theft victims by the Javelin Technique and Study organization breaks categorizes the makes use of of such sensitive information. Illustration 1 shows this breakdown.
(Morris, Johnson, & Kercher, 2005) Illustration 1
Preventing and resolving identity theft is not only an concern between firms and shoppers, but also employers and employees. Staff that hold positions that deal with sensitive information are conveniently capable of committing identity theft. Jamie Lynn Roush is an example of one such case. When employed at Pizza Hut in 2008, Roush bought $6,700 worth of merchandise through the world-wide-web utilizing client bank card numbers. (Benamati, 2008) Another incident took place when a CEO of a personal computer business, Terrence D. Clark, applied client and employee information to apply for loans and credit cards in 2006. (Mehta, 2006) Instances such as these show how conveniently employees are in a position to use sensitive information for their own individual gain. Because the responsibility of protecting consumer and employee information falls heavy on the shoulders of the firms, it is secure to conclude that businesses are not doing sufficient to safeguard such sensitive inf ormation.
In a study of Fortune 500 firms David Linowe found that 70 percent of the firms surveyed disclosed individual information to nongovernment credit grantors, 47 percent gave information to landlords, and 19 percent gave information to charitable organizations. Illustration 2 shows the breakdown of the release of information.
(Lynn, 1996) Illustration 2
As yet another example of the lack of efforts on the part of businesses, Bernie, a member of a 401K program at a bank complains of having to input his social security number into the telephone when calling the banks automated service. The bank also lists social security numbers above the mailing address on the web page. Bernie suggests that these practices have high-quality possible for fraud.(Instances From the PRC Hotline, 1996) A huge contributor to the predicament is that employers are putting social security numbers on unnecessary documents. Not all documents need to have social security numbers printed on them. Working with x for the 1st 5 numbers, revealing only the final 4 is a improved way to secure confidential information.
The time, income and emotion spent attempting to fix ones credit soon after an identity theft is priceless. Victims have to go through a rigorous procedure in attempt to prove they are innocent. According to Experian.com, a web page for one of the three major credit bureaus, negative modifications created to a credit report can take between 7 and 15 years to be removed. (Boost Your Credit Score, 2010) More than the past year, identity theft rates have improved due to the poor economic climate. When the economic climate is poor, shoppers are a great deal more negligent with their information, which in turn makes them much easier targets. When facing hardships, shoppers quite often gamble with home business ventures or fall into on the internet scams claiming to have the top deals. In the course of economic struggles, shoppers open a great deal more credit card accounts with greater interest rates and a great deal more fees.
In addition, when the economic climate is poor criminals are a great deal more determined to commit the offense. According to the 2009 Identity Fraud Survey Report, in the year 2009 identity theft rates improved 22%. When an economic climate struggles, persons are forced to come across new techniques to make income. Firms also suffer during economic hardships, so locating a job can be significantly a great deal more hard. Criminals may possibly feel a great deal more driven to steal income realizing it is not conveniently earned during economic hardships.
The lack of effort from businesses in protecting consumer and employee information has aided in the raise in identity theft rates. Responsibility for stopping and fixing such crimes really should not fall completely on the victims. Each the government and the firms really should be held responsible for protecting consumer and employee information. Far more programs really should be implemented inside firms to guarantee that employees are not in a position to gain sensitive information about customers, clients, and/or co-workers.
Even though there is no way to safeguard yourself against identity theft, there are several actions you can take to lower your probabilities of becoming a victim. Credit card firms and banks oftentimes give identity theft protection, or reimbursement for fraud circumstances. You really should check your credit report a great deal more regularly to make sure there are no unauthorized modifications or credit checks. Also, shred any and all documents that contain confidential information. Appear for and verify security on web pages when making purchases on the internet. Never allow your credit card to be taken out of your sight when shopping or consuming out. It is estimated that 1 in 4 persons will develop into victims of identity theft. Understanding the risks as properly as realizing how to fix the harm brought on is most very important when dealing with this crime. Following these easy guidelines and taking action as easily as feasible will not only make the procedure much easier, but could avoid you from extra attacks. Any individual can develop into a victim of identity theft, so it is very important to monitor your credit report frequently. So i ask you, how quite often will you check your credit report?
References
Benamati, J. (2008). Former Pizza Hut Employee Arrested in Identity Theft of Clients. The Tribune Democrat . Retrieved January 22, 2010 from /neighborhood/neighborhood_story_022230152.html
Instances From the PRC Hotline. (1996). Retrieved December 11, 2009, from Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: /circumstances/cases2.htm
Boost Your Credit Score. (2010). Retrieved January 2, 2010, from Experian: /credit-education/enhance-credit-score.html
Justice, U. D. (2006). A National Technique to Combat Identity Theft. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from US Department of Justice: /files/ric/Publications/e03062303.pdf
Lynn, A. (1996). Retrieved December 4, 2009, from Electronic Privacy Details Center: /privacy/workplace/linowesPR.html
Matejkovic, J. E., & Lahey, K. E. (2001). Identity Theft: No Assist for Customers. Retrieved January five, 2010, from /login.aspx?direct=accurate&db=f5h&AN=7139800&webpage=ehost-reside
Mehta, S. (2006). Fortune. Retrieved January 2, 2010, from CNNMoney: /magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/12/11/8395384/index.htm
Monahan, M., & Kim, R. (2009). Retrieved December 11, 2009, from 2009 Identity Fraud Survey Report: /uploads/901.R_IdentityFraudSurveyBrochure.pdf
Morris, R., Johnson, M., & Kercher, G. (2005). Identity Theft: A Study Report. Retrieved December 15, 2009, from /documents/id_theft_report.pdf
Punishment for identity theft. (2006). Retrieved January 2, 2010, from Identity Theft Awarness: /punishment-for-identity-theft.html
R.E. (2001, October 1). Instances. Retrieved December 14, 2009, from Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: /circumstances/victim15.htm
Slosrik, K. (2002). Identity Theft: An Overview of the Challenge. Justice Skilled, 15 (4), 329.Retrieved January 22, 2010 from /login.aspx?direct=accurate&db=bth&AN=9360871&webpage=ehost-reside
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